HUMAIN, the Saudi state-backed artificial intelligence company, plans to launch a large global venture capital fund this year — potentially larger than a previously discussed $10 billion vehicle — CEO Tareq Amin told Semafor. The move is part of a broader strategy to position Saudi Arabia at the forefront of AI technology.
Recent deals and investment approach
The firm has already made high-profile bets, including a $3 billion investment in Elon Musk’s xAI in February, which Amin described as a "home run." The Public Investment Fund, which controls HUMAIN alongside state oil company Aramco, disclosed a $26 billion stake in SpaceX.
HUMAIN says the new VC fund will have offices in the United States, Saudi Arabia, France and the United Kingdom and will be intentionally large to accelerate investment activity. Amin emphasized the company will not be a passive investor: it intends to back companies that agree to run some of their compute operations in Saudi data centers or to station staff in the kingdom. HUMAIN will also create a separate vehicle, HUMAIN Limitless, dedicated to investing in and supporting AI companies within Saudi Arabia.
Data centers, power and technology partnerships
Launched by the state-controlled Public Investment Fund in May 2025, HUMAIN has laid out an ambitious infrastructure plan. The company has announced plans for six gigawatts of AI data-center capacity in Saudi Arabia by 2034 and has secured a 16 gigawatt power commitment from the Saudi Ministry of Energy. HUMAIN has an agreement with the U.S. government for supply of AI semiconductors and has deals with U.S. technology companies including xAI, Groq, Nvidia and Qualcomm.
The company has taken stakes in AI startups such as video-generation firm Luma AI and developed its own hardware and software products, including a HUMAIN-branded laptop and a computer operating system.
Security measures amid regional conflict
HUMAIN embarked on its data-center buildout as the region grew entangled in the U.S.–Iran war. Amin said the company is "hardening" defenses around its data centers because AI infrastructure elsewhere in the Gulf has been attacked. "In this era, data centers are treated like critical national infrastructure," he said. HUMAIN’s centers are distributed across the country and hardened in terms of security architecture, applying resilience lessons from Aramco’s protection of oil infrastructure.
Despite the conflict, Amin reported no slowdown in demand from AI companies for HUMAIN’s data centers, which he said offer compute at about 30% lower cost than elsewhere. Demand from global hyperscalers has also allowed HUMAIN to finance the buildout by borrowing against offtake agreements with large technology firms; Amin said those offtakes are bankable and have accelerated the company’s ability to raise debt.
Financing partners and export controls
A $3 billion partnership with Blackstone helps fund the company’s data-center deals. Amin highlighted HUMAIN’s strong relationship with the U.S. government and export-control authorities, saying he does not anticipate obstacles in obtaining needed chip capacity.
As part of the U.S.–HUMAIN framework, the company will not permit Chinese frontier AI models to be trained on its compute capacity. Instead, it will allow inference access for Chinese open-source models on its Saudi data centers — a distinction Amin said aligns with the U.S. agreement because HUMAIN will not provide training clusters to Chinese frontier labs.
International approvals and political context
HUMAIN is chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The company’s launch preceded U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, and Amin accompanied the crown prince on a Washington trip where the governments announced a strategic AI partnership. While the agreement’s details have not been fully disclosed, Amin said it gives HUMAIN access to the semiconductors it needs.
Notably, in November 2025 the United States approved the first exports of advanced AI chips to HUMAIN, a significant development for the company.
Outlook
Amin warned that global capacity expansion may lag behind demand: "I think the world is still underestimating what is going to come, and does not have enough power capacity to build for this demand." HUMAIN is not currently expanding its official data-center build plans but is preparing contingencies and said it would accelerate if requested by the kingdom’s leadership.
Overall, HUMAIN’s strategy combines large-scale capital-raising, active investment requirements, international partnerships and reinforced security measures as it seeks to make Saudi Arabia a central player in the global AI ecosystem.
